Peace News: Refugee Resettlement Edition

by Kevin Mercado

Refugee Resettlement

Flow of Migrants to Italy Slows, but Nobody Knows WhyAugust 18, 2017The main route to Europe is now experiencing one of its longest lulls since 2014, when the migration crisis began. Just over 4,000 migrants have reached Italy from Libya since mid-July, a fifth of the number in 2014, 2015, and 2016, according to the Italian Interior Ministry. This lull, along with the center-left government’s response to it, may be a defining factor in the upcoming general election.

In Serbian Refugee Center, a ‘Little Picasso’ Dreams of Art and AsylumAugust 19, 2017Farhad Nouri, a 10-year-old boy who has been nicknamed ‘Little Picasso’, has won acclaim for his artwork and just recently had his first exhibition. Farhad and his family live in a refugee center outside of Belgrade, Serbia. They are among the 4,700 asylum seekers who the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates are living in Serbia.

The Bridge Between Iraq and Connecticut? CookingAugust 20, 2017In this New York Times video, a community in Connecticut is breaking the standard narrative of fear about refugees by finding a connection in cooking. In the program, the Sanctuary Kitchen hosts cooking classes and supper clubs, inviting refugees in the local area to participate.

Living in a Void: Life in Damascus After the ExodusAugust 22, 2017Novelist Khaled Khalifa decided to stay in Syria despite six years of civil war and watching countless friends and family flee the city. Khalifa offers a personal account of the hardships that he has been dealt and why he chose to stay.